Panel to investigate killings of four Oakland officers

By Kelly RayburnOakland Tribune

Posted:
06/01/2009 11:12:38 AM PDT

Updated:
08/04/2009 11:55:37 AM PDT

OAKLAND — A board that will include law-enforcement experts from across the state and the nation will conduct a "complete review" of the March 21 fatal shootings of four police officers, department officials said Monday.

The panel's inquiry will follow two ongoing investigations — one by the department's homicide unit and another by internal affairs — and will be designed to get to the bottom of the March 21 tragedy.

"My sole intent in commissioning this outside investigation is to provide officers, both in OPD and agencies across the country, with key lessons that may save the lives of future officers," said Acting Police Chief Howard Jordan.

The Board of Inquiry, as it is being called, will be led by Oakland police Capt. Benson Fairow.

Fairow said the panel will "review the circumstances surrounding the incident, make findings, identify training needs and make policy recommendations if needed."

Fatally shot March 21 were Officer John Hege and Sgt. Mark Dunakin, and SWAT Sgts. Erv Romans and Daniel Sakai. They were all killed by parolee Lovelle Mixon, who was shot dead by police after the SWAT team stormed an apartment in which he was hiding.

The department did not provide a list of people who will serve on the board or an exact time frame on when it will begin or finish its work. Department spokesman Jeff Thomason did say the board will be comprised of SWAT experts from "around the state and around the nation," including people from the Los Angeles Police Department and the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, among other agencies.

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March 21 has been described as the darkest day in Oakland Police Department history. The department reached out to law-enforcement experts shortly after the shootings to begin putting together the board, Fairow said.

Questions have continued as to whether critical information about Mixon's location reached team leaders before they raided the apartment.

Five police commanders, including Deputy Chief David Kozicki, are under internal investigations for matters related to the shootings, police sources familiar with the situation recently told MediaNews.

Kozicki and two other commanders who were on the scene — Capt. Rick Orozco and Lt. Chris Mufarreh — are being investigated for the truthfulness of statements they gave about the events, the sources said.

Michael Rains, an attorney representing those three commanders, said last week that none of them believed Mixon was in the apartment when the team was sent in, and that they gave consistent and truthful statements regarding the shootings.

Jordan declined to comment on the investigations of the commanders, saying he is prohibited by state law from discussing such personnel matters.

Asked Monday whether information about Mixon's whereabouts reached SWAT officers, Jordan said, "We're not going to get into any specifics about what happened, and when it happened. That's something the Board of Inquiry will be asked to review. "... This entire incident is under review, not just specifics about one particular portion, or a group of people, or officer. The entire incident is under review."

Oakland's SWAT team, meanwhile, was removed from action between March 21 and last Friday, when SWAT officers raided an East Oakland home in an anti-drug operation. One reason for the break was so that new team leaders could be trained to replace Romans and Sakai.

Capt. Ed Tracey remains in charge of SWAT operations.

Tracey requested last month he be relieved of his SWAT duties when officers raised concerns about his leadership and questioned why he stayed at Highland Hospital, where Hege and Dunakin were taken, rather than oversee the search for Mixon.

Tracey's special operations division includes both SWAT and the traffic unit.

At the time he went to Highland Hospital on March 21, Tracey said, the situation "was not deemed to be a SWAT situation," and "information (about) the identity of the shooter was still being developed." He also said he knew Orozco and Kozicki (both with SWAT experience) were at the scene "to help handle any situation that may arise."

Jordan expressed faith in Tracey's leadership Monday, and Tracey said he is ready to lead SWAT operations after meeting with his team and his superiors after initially requesting he be relieved of SWAT duties.

"What's important is that we're moving forward," Tracey said.

The Alameda County Sheriff's Office handled SWAT calls for Oakland after the March 21 shootings.